Mr Gamblin' Man
by KidVicious-91
Summary: This is my most recent fic. :
1. Chapter 1

_Mr Gamblin' Man. Good Lord, he is beautiful. Crisp white suit, hair slicked back, shining blue eyes. Oh man, they have tah be the lightest blue Ah'v ever seen. Man oh man oh man. Christ in a handbasket his lips! He's frowning, but man, that don't matter. Ah wonder whut it'd be like tah kiss him? Tah feel him close against me?_

Ellis stood, staring at the man swaggering around of him. This was the first time he'd had a proper look at the other three people he was standing with. A heavy set man was to his left, wearing a yellow and purple polo shirt. He kind of looked like a football coach. He walked around to the cash register, stopping to grab a piece of paper that had been left on the counter. A small woman wearing a pink Depeche mode t-shirt was standing just in front of him, looking at a map that had been spread out on the table in front of her. And finally to his right was Mr Gamblin' man. This guy was the one who interested him the most. With his white suit, blue shirt, hair slicked back, rings covering his fingers, he truly was a sight. Ellis couldn't help but stare. Leaning over the register, he opened it using his pistol. It pinged as it opened, the gambler glancing up at him, a smirk on his face, and Ellis felt his heart hammer slightly harder against his chest. His thoughts were interrupted as the heavy set man spoke. "Report unusual behaviour. Barricade your homes. Avoid all contact with infected individuals. Wait for official instructions. Hah! Wait my ass!" he chuckled, reading aloud from the paper he held in his hand, biting a chunk out of the candy bar in his other hand. Ellis turned and walked over to the locker across from one of the shelves. Opening it, his eyes wondered over the array of weapons inside. Grinning he reached inside, grabbing several pistols, turning around and laying one on the table for the woman in front of him, nodding his head, smiling politely. He turned back around, facing the locker and pulled out a combat shotgun. Looking back to the heavy set man he grinned. "Kill all sons'a bitches." He paused, pumping his shotgun, now fully loaded, his eyes wondering to rest on Mr gamblin' man, who was now looking at him, a curious smirk on his face. "That's mah 'fficial instructions." Ellis finished, grinning.

The group loaded their weapons from the ammo stash in the locker, and walked towards the door. The heavy set man spoke, clutching his shotgun tightly. "We all ready to do this?" After receiving a nod from the rest, he nodded to Ellis, who was standing in front of the door. Moving back, Ellis kicked the door open, blasting an infected right in front of him. The heavy set man was also blasting away to his left, along with Mr gamblin' man, who was popping zombies down with his desert eagle with some serious skill. The woman was to his right, swinging her axe down heavily on anything that came near her. There was a hotel opposite the small store they had just exited. "People, let's head to the hotel!" The heavy set man hollered in front of him, the rest agreeing and jogging behind him, slashing and shooting anything in their way."I heard there's an evac station with a helicopter!" The small woman shouted over the hissing of the infected that were trying to kill them. After killing the horde and reaching the hotel doors, they entered, one by one, cautiously glancing around. It was quiet. Too quiet. Infected had managed to get in, it was obvious by the state of the main lobby. Papers were scattered on the floor, blood was sprayed over the walls, pooling on the floor. Several corpses littered the floor, the smell of smoke and death hung heavily in the air. "Okay. Where's this evac station miss?" The heavy set man had turned his attention from the corpses to the small woman. "Well." She spoke slowly, like she was racking her brains. "Joey said it was… I think it was the hotel's rooftop. Yeah. That's what he said, just before he…Just before they…" She stopped talking and began to chew her bottom lip. The heavy set man nodded understandingly. "Come on then people. Let's make our way to the roof." He glanced at the elevator, the others following his gaze. Mr gamblin' man walked over and pressed the button. "Let's get goin' then, shall we?" Ellis nodded walking over to stand next to him, the others standing behind them. Finally the elevator pinged and the doors opened, allowing them to step inside. "Only goes tah floor seven." Ellis spoke pressing the button, the doors slowly closing, the elevator jumping to life. They stood in the elevator silent, still trying to get over the shock of what was happening, or to put it simpler, what actually was happening. The elevator halted to a stop and the doors pinged just as they did when it arrived, the doors opening quicker this time. A group of zombies were waiting for them as they stepped out of the elevator, Ellis easily disposing of them using his shotgun. Together, they followed the signs leading to a set of stairs which took them to floor eight, taking out several zombies on the way. Once up the stairs it was silent. Just as quiet as it was in the lobby. Ellis didn't like it this quiet because he knew from all the video games and movies he had seen that something worse was bound to happen. Once again they followed the signs leading to the next floor which should be the rooftop, none of them uttering so much as a single word. Eventually they made it to the stairs, the woman running up first, followed by Ellis, than the heavy set man who was breathing hard, finally Mr gamblin' man just behind him. The heavy set man stopped and leant against the railings, breathing hard. "Who the hell…..Puts an evac station….Up thirty flights of goddamn stairs?" He panted, shaking his head. The gambler jogged past him up the stairs, turned his head and smirked. "Come on Coach, maybe the helicopter….Maybe it's made out of chocolate." He chuckled, also breathing hard, before continuing up the rest of the stairs, followed by the heavy set man who was twisting his face. When the other two had made it to the roof, it was deserted; the only sound that could be heard was the helicopter leaving. "Hey, where is everybody? Helllloooo?" Ellis shouted, circling the rooftop, looking for any signs of life. The woman raised her hand to her forehead in disbelief. "Okay, this is not happening." "Anyone here?" Ellis hollered, ignoring the woman repeating herself. The gambler walked to the edge of the rooftop and placed his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. The heavy set man that the gambler had called Coach frowned. "Thought they supposed to be savin' our asses?" He spoke gruffly, shotgun still in hand. "Looks like there's been a change of plans." The gambler answered, gazing after the helicopter in the distance. "That chopper looks like it's headin' over tah the evac station at the mall." Ellis muttered, also watching the chopper head away. "Gotta agree. Let's grab a weapon and head to the mall." Coach walked towards the weapons on the table. There was also a few first aid kits that had been left behind. The group restocked on ammo, grabbed the first aid kits and made their way back downstairs, hearing a loud bang and the shattering of glass, followed by the several inhumane shrieks, the smell of smoke getting stronger. Opening the door, a group of infected were running towards the door, screaming and hissing, ready to kill. Ellis ran into the room on the right, grabbing the pills that were on the table, the gambler close behind, disposing of the zombie that was about to take a chunk out of Ellis's back. He grabbed his arm and turned him around. "Kid, you better watch out." Ellis smiled and nodded thanks, his heart pounding as the gambler stared at him hard. Quicker than a flash the contact was broken, and the gambler had walked to the table and was looking at the map that had been scribbled over. Ellis stood and watched him in a trance like state as he spoke. "If that map's right, New Orleans might be the last place in America that can get us out alive." He muttered, concentrating on the map, tracing the lines with his finger. His head snapped up and towards the door as a loud shriek was heard. Louder than the general noise from the infected they had heard. "Shit. Reports say that there's something that is worse than zombies." The woman whispered, raising her axe high, staring hard at the door. Coach quickly loaded his shotgun and moved towards the door, peeking his head out. "I know what that is. I heard it on the news. They're calling it a hunter. Shit. It saw me." He cursed, quickly stepping back inside and raising his gun, ready to shoot. They heard it growling and banging its way down the hall, before stopping outside of the door, staring at them all. It was wearing a dark blue ripped hoodie, and had razor sharp looking claws, its eyes burning into Coach. "So that's a Hunter, huh? What's he gonna do, go for a jog at me?" the gambler sarcastically whispered to Ellis, causing him to chuckle quietly. The hunter rose onto its feet and threw back his head, letting out an almighty scream, and launched itself at Coach. It knocked him off his feet, sending him crashing to the floor; its sharp claws began ripping into his chest. "GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" Coach shouted, wrestling with the beast on top of him. The woman ran forward and whacked the hunter off him using her axe and began helping him up, while the gambler walked forward and pressed the gun to its head before pulling the trigger, spraying the wall behind it with blood. Ellis stood mouth open. _Dayme, Mr Gamblin' man has some goddamn style! _

Coach walked out of the room and down the corridor, followed by the woman. The once clear path had now been blocked by vending machines and debris from the collapsing building. Instead, they headed right, into a storage room by the looks of things. Dead end. There were only a few shelves, a door leading to a cupboard, and two windows. Just as they turned to leave a small giggling made them stop dead. The woman's eyes widened. "Shit. Jockey." Coach grabbed her by the arm. "Girl, how yall know all this?" The woman smiled. "I work for the news. I was supposed to be reporting on the evacuation, until they got-." The window next to them smashed, and a small, ginger haired creature jumped inside, giggling maniacally, and jumped up at the woman, wrapping its arms around her head. "GET THIS THING OFF MY HEAD! OH MY GOD IT'S ON MY FACE!" She screamed, running around, arms waving wildly, heading towards the open window. Ellis sped forward and grabbed the jockey, hurling it to the floor, letting Coach pop it with his shotgun. The gambler walked over to the jockey, his head tilted to the side. "So, that's a Jockey huh? Cute little guy." Ellis felt a smile cross his face. _Ah like him. Ah reaally like him._ "Out here, let's try the ledge." He spoke, stepping out, gripping onto the edge of the wall, followed by Ellis, the woman and Coach. They finally made it to the next staircase without falling off the edge, a few zombies being thrown over, however. At the bottom of the stairs, the gambler walked behind next to Ellis. "Hey Mr gamblin' man. Ah got this fer yah." He whispered, handing him an adrenaline shot he had found under bed in one of the rooms. The suit smiled at him. "Thanks kid." A green jar on the floor distracted him from Ellis. "That can't be a bottle of puke. Is it?" He bent down, picking it up and reading the label. "Boomer bile. Oh great. Boomer puke. First of all, what the fuck is a boomer? Second, why is its vomit in a jar?" Ellis shook his head. "Beats me, Sir. We're almost at the elevator- shit." He pointed to the wall of fire that blocked their path. "Shit! This place is burnin' up fast!" The suit spoke, following the other two into a room on the left. "We can use this ledge to get around the fire!" he coughed, the smoke clogging the air heavily. Coach nodded, the rest of them following, cautiously stepping out of the window, a group of zombies trying to pull them of the ledge. "Shit! Ah need some help here!" Ellis shouted, a zombie grabbing him. Hissing, it lost its balance, sending them both tumbling over the edge. Luckily Ellis grabbed the ledge just in time. The suit turned, hearing him shout. "Fuck!" He cursed, making his way back to where the kid hung on, desperately clinging, slowly losing his grip, his hands getting sweaty. One of his hands slipped off causing him to cry out. "HELP!" The suit bent down, gripping him tightly and pulling. "Ah shit, come on, come on, come on!" he groaned, pulling with all his might. Finally he was up, both panting. "You guys okay?" The woman shouted from the room ahead. Ellis nodded and turned to face the gambler. "Thank you so much Sir." The suit wiped the sweat from his brow and smiled. "No problem. But uh, less of the sir, okay?" Before he could say anymore, Coach was beckoning them over. "People we gotta move, this place is on fire!" Slowly and carefully they made it over the edge, finally making it back to the elevator, the woman stopping to grab the containers of pills that were near an ashtray. Once inside, she handed one to Coach. He smiled and nodded thanks, pressing the button to go down to the bottom floor. The doors shut and Ellis sighed. "Holy shit. This is some sorta nightmare goddamn zombie apocalypse ahn' shit. Shit, shit, shit. Whut in hell we gonna do?" Coach spoke. "Settle down son. We gonna be okay. What's your name?" "Ellis. Mah name's Ellis." Coach smiled. "My friends call me Coach. I guess yall can do the same." The woman spoke up. "Hey, name's Rochelle, you?" She motioned towards the suit. "Name's Nick. But don't worry about learnin' it, cause I ain't stickin' around long." Ellis felt his stomach drop as the suit, now known as Nick, leant against the elevator wall. "Let's stay together a little while longer at least, okay Nick?" Coach suggested, Ellis's hopes rising slightly. He had only known Nick a short while, but he didn't really want to be separated from him. Nick sighed. "I bet there's gonna be somethin's waiting for us out there. So let's get ready." Ellis turned, facing the doors. He couldn't help grinning. _Man, things ain't all bad!_


	2. Chapter 2

The elevator doors pinged open, revealing a wall of thick black smoke and fire. Several inhumane wails could be heard as well as the multiple bangs and crashes of the building falling apart. Nick ran forward and bent down, grabbing some ammo from the conveniently placed stash on the floor, followed by Ellis, Rochelle and finally Coach. Once they were reloaded, together they turned to face what stood in front of them. A small group of infected ran straight towards them, barely seen through the smoke. Rochelle was the first to move forward, swinging at anything and everything that came near her, the sound of her axe slicing through flesh became louder as she grunted with effort. Coach had slipped into a small room on the right, but just as quickly ran out cursing. "Crazy neck!" he shouted, warning the others as a female zombie ran out squealing, her head bobbing on top of her lengthened neck, jaw hideously deformed, green looking saliva leaking from her mouth. She leant forward and shot what they thought was spit at them, several drops landing on Ellis's arm. He yelped in pain and furiously began wiping away the burning acid spit that covered him. "Awh great, now they're spittin' shit at us?" Ellis mumbled, barely able to see or hear the others, apart from Nick who he was guessing had also been hit by the green goo. "Ugh, what in the hell did that thing just do?" he moaned as Coach ran past him, pelting it with blasts from his shotgun. Rochelle who had managed to take out most of the zombies while the others were dealing with the spitting woman, turned to face him, squinting, her eyes stinging from the smoke. "It was a spitter!" she panted, blood covering most of her shirt. Finally the spitter was dead and they moved forward, entering a door just passed the one Coach had came out of, marked 'Kitchen'. Nick stepped over the Spitter's body, careful not to stand in the pool of acid that was leaking from her. He paused, leaning over her, examining her disgusting appearance. Ellis stood behind and waited to hear what joke Nick was going to crack now, since he had done for both the Hunter and the Jockey. He didn't have to wait long. "So. That's a spitter huh? You think she's single?" Ellis couldn't help the grin from spreading across his face. He loved Nick's sarcastic comments, it seemed to lighten the mood, even if only a bit.

Once inside the next room, fire blocked them on all sides. The only way across was over a counter that stood in the centre of the room. After scrambling over the counter, they noticed they could head left and around the fire, through another door, where luckily a clear path could be made out. They ran to the right, around the fire, and to the left to another door which could be seen through all the smoke. The group stopped once they had made it out of that room, gasping for breath, wiping the tears that ran down their cheeks. Looking into the room ahead, Ellis noticed it was cleared than the others. Daylight shone through the windows on the ceiling. There was still alot of smoke in here, just not as much as the previous rooms. Looking further ahead, he saw a door. "Safehouse ahead yall!" Ellis shouted, jogging forward towards to the red door, shooting the few zombies that stood in his way, and dodging the chairs and tables that were strewn across the floor, followed by the rest. When everyone was inside, Nick slammed the door behind them, barring it with a few chairs and a table. "Take that you mealy mouthed bastards!" Nick shouted, relieved they were safe. Ellis chuckled. "That's how it's done RIGHT!" Rochelle smiled, while Coach propped himself up against the wall, exhausted. He couldn't believe they had made it. Nick felt the same as he let himself slide to the floor, tipping his head back against the wall, hands resting on his knees, eyes closed, panting hard. They stood in silence for the next five minutes, the only noise heard was their panting and the moans of the infected outside. Finally Ellis spoke, scratching his chin. "Ooooh. Ah know a gun store we can stop at along the way, get ourselves some real weapons." Nick opened his eyes and stood up, grabbing some ammo for his desert cobra. "I guess living here's finally paying off." He smirked, reloading his weapon. Ellis watched him intensely, trying hard not to get caught gawping. Coach cleared his throat, causing Ellis to jump and quickly look away, feeling the others looking at him for jumping, his face flushing dark red. "Mr, I don't think I like your attitude." Coach spoke softly but sternly, facing Nick fully, a first aid kit in his hands to heal the wounds the Hunter had left. Nick however just rolled his eyes. "Whatever." Rochelle was looking outside through the gaps in the bars, shooting the zombies she could get a shot of. "My buddy Keith tried campin' on top of a bulidin' once, he was shootin' crows, buht the police were too busy tear gassin' him tah ask whut he was doin' up there. He screamed fer an entire year every single time he opened his eyes. Oh man. At first it was funny, then it jus' got sad, buht then it got funny again. Oh man." Nick interrupted him. "Ellis. Is now the best time?" Ellis nodded his head, smiling politely. "Okay." Nick moved past Ellis and stood in front of Rochelle, taking the bar off the sturdy heavy door. "What are we waitin' for? Let's go."

After the door had shut behind them, Nick stopped, putting his finger to his lip, signalling for the others to be quiet. "What's up?" Coach whispered, Nick waving his hand, listening intently. They stood in silence, Rochelle nervously placing her axe in her holster and grabbing her machine gun. "There!" Nick whispered, eyes wide. A low growling sound. Lower and more menacing than anything they had encountered so far. Cautiously, they walked past a fence, not a single infected left in sight. Ellis noticed a sign flashing and ran forward, excited. "Hey man!" He shouted to the others behind him, still walking slowly, "This sign is sayin' CEDA Evac/Liberty Mall! The mall ain't far from here man, Ah mean- OH, LORDY BIG ASS THING!" Suddenly, the ground began shaking violently, and Ellis furiously began shooting, unloading a mammoth load of bullets into something unknown to the others, a series of roars following. Nick's eyes widened as he ran towards Ellis, the others following close behind. He stopped when he'd reached him, turning to face the roaring beast that was pounding its way to them, Ellis now frozen in place. "HOLY SHIT, BIG FREAKIN' ZOMBIE! WE HAVE A PROBLEM!" Coach quickly raised his shotgun and moved back, the others standing still, dumbstruck at the hulking monster coming towards them. It was humungous, it looked like a gorilla the way it used its fists to move. Dark pink/red in colour, its upper body was a huge mass of muscles. Its legs however, looked like a regular human's. No neck was visible, and it seemed like the bottom jaw was missing, as its tongue was hanging out. Coach snapped them out of it shouting loudly. "SHOOT THAT BIG MUTHA!" He didn't have to tell them twice. Everyone began running backwards, shooting continuously. The creature locked onto Nick, and was faster than they had anticipated, reaching him and batting him to the side with one of his enormous fists, as if he were made of feathers. Nick went flying and landed hard against an abandoned truck, groaning in pain, blood seeping from his mouth. He tried getting up but his vision was blurred, causing him to fall back against the truck, panting heavily, a sharp pain in his chest. "I...I need some help over here!" Nick tried to shout, wincing, his chest becoming tighter as he spoke. Ellis deserted his fellow teammates, and ran over to Nick. _Awh shit, ah hope he's okay. Man, he gotta be okay._ Finally after a huge amount of bullets had been pounded into the tank like creature, it slumped over, falling to the ground with a heavy thud. Rochelle and Coach stood, panting hard, staring at the Tanks' motionless body. "If I go, you guys are gonna miss me!" Nick chuckled, wheezing as Ellis knelt down in front of him. "Look at me. Yer gonna be okay." Ellis lifted Nicks' chin, looking worriedly at the injuries on his face. Nick stared hard, blinking repeatedly, trying to get his vision returned to normal. Grabbing his first aid kit, Ellis pulled out some bandages, antiseptic wipes and spray, and some closure strips. Squinting hard, Nick's vision finally began to return to normal, just in time to see Ellis leaning forward, his tongue sticking out, deep in concentration, one hand still holding his face, his other clutching a wipe. Gently, he began dabbing at the cut on Nick's lip, apologizing as Nick pulled away, cursing. "Nick man, ah know that hurts, buht ah gotta fix yall up." He smiled sympathetically as Nick sighed, allowing Ellis to continue. Once he was satisfied his lip was clean, he looked for any other wounds. Nick realized this and spoke quietly. "I'm pretty sure my chest has been caved in...But my hand...My hand is fucked." Nick mumbled, gripping onto Ellis' shoulder, trying to steady himself. A sick feeling had overcome him, and even though he was sitting down, he felt like he was going to fall. Ellis grabbed his hand and lifted it onto his knee. He could feel his heart racing a million miles an hour in his chest. This was just the excuse he needed. The amount of times he'd thought about getting close to Nick, and here he was, holding his hand. He knew it wasn't in the same way he wanted it to be, but he didn't care, he was content with stroking his hand, feeling the softness and warmth, not wanting to ever let go. "So...How's it look?" Nick muttered, snapping Ellis out of his trance like state. "Man, it's a good think yall get these stitchy thingies in here. That cut is perrrty deep. Buht...Yall live. Unfortunately." He grinned and winked at him. Nick chuckled, tilting his head back, closing his eyes and grinning. "Kay...Ah ain't gonna lie man, this might sting a bit." Ellis warned, pulling the cap of the antiseptic spray, and spraying the wound lightly. "Motherfucker! That fucking stings!" Nick cursed, tugging hard on Ellis' shoulder, sending him flying forwards, landing on Nick hard with a grunt, his face buried into Nick's neck. "Shit. Sorry kid." Ellis placed his hands onto the Nick's thighs and smiled, slowly pulling back, inhaling as much of Nick as he could get, feeling a twinge in his stomach, starting to feel slight movements in his pants. Even though they were in midst of an apocalypse, he couldn't stop his feelings. Hell, he didn't want to. "You guys all sorted? We gotta get movin'." Coach interrupted the moment, and Ellis turned his head, nodding. "Yeah man, almost done." Carefully, he placed some stitches across the wound and wrapped a bandage around his hand, pulling the pain pills out of his pocket. He popped open the cap, and shook out two, handing them to Nick. "Here man, yall gonna need these." Nick shook his head. "Nick, man, take 'em. Please. Fer me?" He smiled as Nick took the pills and swallowed them. He was more surprised Nick had responded the way he did. Ellis than began replacing the pills in his pocket and the first aid kit on his back, before hooking Nick's arm around him and pulling him up, wrapping his other arm around his waist. "Thanks kid. I really appreciate it." Ellis smiled. "Hey man, ain't no need. Ah know yall woulda done the same fer me-" Nick interrupted him. "That's the thing. No...I wouldn't of. But now... Let's just say you've changed my mind...about a _few_ things. Seriously, thanks." Nick smiled, rubbing the arm around his waist. Ellis felt his stomach flip, and turned red, mumbling that it was okay. Together they followed Rochelle and Coach to the door at the bottom of the street.

_Oh mah Gawd... He's so...Ah can't...Oh man, oh man, oh man. Ah wonder whut he ment by changed his mind on a few things...? Man...Fer bein' a zombie apocalypse ahn' all...This shit is awesome!_


	3. Chapter 3

As they walked into the room, Nick sighed, noticing a set of stairs in the corner of the room. He winced as he descended the stairs, one by one, still clutching tightly to Ellis, who despite everything, was still whistling cheerily. Rochelle and Coach began thoroughly searching the room, including the small dark room at the back, which was down a smaller set of stairs, while Ellis set Nick down on the bottom steps. He turned to face Nick, but before Ellis could speak, a loud bang on the door to their right interrupted him. Coach returned, followed by Rochelle, both nervously looking at the door. Nodding, they moved, standing just in front of the door, motioning for Ellis to open it, while Nick slowly rose to his feet. Ellis gripped the door handle, before looking back at Coach, who nodded quickly. Turning back to face the door, he slowly turned the handle. The door opened, and a loud howl pierced the silence. They could see it now, a creature bigger than they zombies, with a huge pulsating right arm. It threw back its head, letting out another almighty roar and grabbed Ellis, running forward into the room, bashing him against the wall, knocking Coach and Rochelle to the ground in the process. The creature lifted him high, then slammed him into the ground, causing him to cry out. "This thing's bashin' me intah shit!" He lifted him again, and Ellis squeezed his eyes shut, expecting to be pounded into the ground again, but instead he heard a gunshot, and the massive hand that had gripped him so tightly let go, and the monster fell to its knees. Ellis glanced up from its lifeless body to see Nick, standing clutching his side, shotgun smoking. "Heh. You know what they say about zombies with one big arm..." He grinned at Ellis, extending his hand to pull him up. Ellis chuckled, gripping Nick's hand tightly, feeling the sweat that covered his hand. The smile slowly faded from his face as he noticed the blood that had splattered onto Nicks' once white suit. Looking up, Ellis saw Nick was looking at their hands. He felt his stomach twinge, realizing he hadn't let go yet, but then again, neither had Nick. _Oh man, oh man, oh man, ah could stand like this forever. _He felt Nicks' hand slide off his own as Rochelle's' voice snapped them out of it. "Guys, everything okay?" Ellis nodded, smiling. Rochelle smiled and turned, walking out of the door, followed by Coach. Nick also turned, but Ellis grabbed his shoulder lightly. "Hey man," he started, glancing nervously to the floor. "Ah jus' wanted tah say thanks, yah know fer, savin' me from that...thing...so uhh, thanks man." He smiled as Nick stared at him, a look of confusion across his face. "Uhh, sure, no problem kid." Nick finally spoke, turning around and starting towards the door. Ellis's voice causing him once again to turn around. "Hey, Nick? Yall need help?" Loading his gun, he shook his head. "No thanks kid, I've got it." Ellis smiled and nodded, feeling disappointment land heavily in his chest as he watched Nick walk out of the room, still clutching his side.

After climbing over a dumpster, and being attacked by countless number of zombies, the group finally came to another building. Coach paused outside the door, tilting his head slightly to the side. The rest of the group stood still, eyes darting back and forth. Eventually they heard it. Sobbing. Coach moved away from the door, reloading his shotgun. "Heh, sounds like my ex-wife. Everybody, lights off." Nick whispered, moving forward and opening the door, his eyes wide. Inside the room, there was a woman walking around, head in her hands, crying loudly. Her fingers were long and dripping with blood. As Nick stood there, she walked closer to him, her sobs changing to growls, each time getting louder as she got closer. Rochelle pulled him back. "Nick that's a witch! Stop pissing her off!" She whispered, eyes wide with fear. "Pissing her off? I'm not doing a damn thing! It's her own fault for coming near me! Stupid-" Nick was interrupted by a piercing scream. Everyone's head snapped towards the witch, who was now standing with her hands away from her face, revealing a pair of glowing red eyes, which were firmly locked onto Nick. "Shit!" He cursed, slowly moving backwards. The witch let out another scream and ran towards him, arms outstretched. Luckily the pills Ellis had given him earlier were working, allowing him to turn around and hop over the railing, and continuing to run as fast as he could. "This bitch is chasin' me!" Nick hollered, hearing the witch's screams not that far behind him, followed by the rest of the group, unloading a mammoth amount of bullets into her back. Just before Nick hopped over the wall, the witch let out a final dying scream, and fell to the floor. Nick chuckled and sat on the wall, panting hard. Ellis ran up to him, a look of concern on his face. Before he could speak, Nick shook his head. "I'm fine. Honest. Come on. Let's just...let's get going." His voice was different. Cold. He stood up and walked towards the others, leaving Ellis confused behind.

_Whut have ah done wrong? His voice...Man...It sounded like...It sounded like he hates me...Man, ah'm jus' bein' stupid. Buht...Whut if ah ain't...? _Nick's words spun around his mind, as they stood upstairs, stocking up on ammo, and pills, also finding a few pipe bombs, which were sure to come in handy. Once they had finished, they slowly made their way outside onto the ledge overlooking a truck, conveniently placed, so they could make their way down to the ground. Ellis stood in the corner, down on one knee, popping the zombies scattered around on the floor with his newly found sniper from the room before, while Nick disposed of the Jockey that was climbing up the truck to greet them. When the area below them was clear, Coach jumped down first, taking care of a few zombies that couldn't be seen, then turning to help Rochelle down. Ellis went next, stopping first to assist Nick, who pushed him away, telling him he could manage. He knew not to try and reason with Nick when he was like this, so he clambered down, landing next to the others. Nick stood on top of the truck above them, a look of deep concentration on his face, as he slowly hopped down, grunting in pain, as he landed with a thump on his knees. Rochelle and Coach were already walking away, up the steps closest to them, so Ellis hooked Nick's arm around him, pulling him up. Nick wasn't having any of this however, and pulled away, muttering 'I'm fine'. "Hey man, listen. I know yall not wantin' any help ahn' shit, buht I know yer hurtin'. So cut out the macho act ahn' lemme help yall. 'Kay?" He held onto Nick, a warm smile on his face. Nick sighed and nodded, wrapping his arm around Ellis's back, finally managing to stumble ahead to catch up to the other two. Eventually they came to another set of stairs, after getting rid of a few zombies and also a hunter that managed to sneak behind them and pounce Rochelle. "Hey man, ah recognize this! That gun store's jus' up ahead!" Ellis exclaimed, his voice quivering with excitement, as he pointed up the stairs, Rochelle began jogging up them fast. "Hey man, c'mon! Let's get ourselves some real weapons!" Coach laughed, following closely behind. Ellis began to follow, but Nick pulled him back. "Hey kid...Wait up." Ellis stopped, immediately turning around to face him, relieved to hear Nick acknowledging him, but obvious concern washing over his face. "Yeah? Yall okay?" Nick nodded, pulling the pills out of his pocket. "I'm fine. I just need these." Ellis nodded, smiling as he waited patiently, the others stopping at the top of the stairs, shooting at something unknown. As Nick and Ellis got halfway up the stairs, it was apparent what they were shooting at, by the countless number of hisses and growls. A hoard of at least thirty zombies awaited them at the other end of the fenced corridor, with more crawling over the walls, and coming up the stairs behind them. "Grenade!" Coach boomed, throwing a pipe bomb aiming to get it over the fence at the end of the corridor, its bleeping instantly alerting the zombies, their heads snapping around to chase the flashing bomb. It landed just behind the fence, zombies crowded around, howling and hissing, fighting over each other to get to the foreign object. The bleeping got faster, and within the second, exploded with an almighty bang, blowing chunks of flesh everywhere. Rochelle walked ahead, turning around to address the others. "So. To the gun store?"


	4. Chapter 4

After making it down the stairs the group stopped. Coach looked through the fence, noticing a blockade in the distance, a tanker standing right in front of it. "Whitaker's Gun Shop. Heh heh, we made it y'all!" Ellis laughed, holding open the door for the others. Nick pulled away from Ellis and was the first to enter, a wide grin crossing his face. "Candy store for adults." He chuckled, eyes wondering over the many weapons in front of him, heading straight towards the AK-47's mounted on the wall. "I'm not legally allowed to own a gun. Hope everybody's okay with that." He muttered, reloading the rifle as Rochelle walked in next, before deciding on a M-16 assault rifle. Coach kept his combat shotgun, and moved next the ammo cache on top of the counter. Ellis popped a zombie before slamming the door shut behind him, turned around and gawped at the weapons in front of him. He hopped over the counter and lowered a sniper rifle. "Aww hell yeah!" He grinned, before spotting the laser sites on some crates in the corner. "Okay. Where to now guys?" Rochelle looked up from rifle, scanning the room around her. Apart from the door they used to get inside the gun store, there was only one other door. "Ah'm thinkin' this way folks." Ellis pointed towards the door Rochelle was staring at. Walking over he gripped the doorknob tightly in his hand, before nodding Coach who was to his right. Slowly he twisted the handle. Locked. "Dayme! It's locked. Looks like it's back the way we came guys." Sighing, they turned around, preparing to exit the store. "Hey. Wait a minute. There's an intercom here. I swear you guys would be so fucked without me." Nick chuckled, the pain in his chest finally beginning to fade. He straightened up slightly and pushed the button. "Uhhh hello?" Coach sighed, rolling his eyes, his patience running out. "Nick. Y'all ain't gonna get no reply off that thing. Come on. We can find another way to the mall." Nick opened his mouth to reply but before he could, a southern accent interrupted him from the intercom which he still standing in front of.

"Hello there. I've barricaded myself on the roof with ample provisions. But in my haste, I forgot cola. So here's my proposition. If you go find me some cola from the yonder food store, I'll clear the path to the mall for you." Ellis scratched his head as the door unlocked with a click. Nick looked at Coach questioningly, before receiving a nod. "So. Let me get this straight: we get you your shit, and you'll help us get to the mall, right? Okay. You screw with us and I will kill you with your own gun." Ellis smirked at Nick's remark. He truly was a man not to be fucked around with. And Whitaker sensed it too. "I am not a man to weasel out of a deal sir. I'd shake on it with you, but there's no way in hell I'm going back down there." Nick turned to face the rest. "Let's get this shit done. The quicker we get to the mall, the quicker we get outta this." After Coach had checked out the door to the right and grabbing a Molotov, some pills and a pipe bomb, they made their way up the stairs, turning left and heading down more stairs to the ground floor. Cautiously, they walked forwards, turning left into the store's car park, where a few cars and a shopping cart or two lay deserted. "Save 4 less." Ellis read aloud, standing to the side of the doors as Nick had his hand firmly on the handle, gripping so tight his knuckles had turned white. Ellis watched as he swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bouncing up and down. His face however, remained calm and focused. He felt his stomach twinge as Nick turned to face him, swallowing once more and nodding. It was too quiet, and he had a feeling it wasn't going to be as easy as it seemed.

As soon as Nick pushed the double doors open in front of him, the loud ring of an alarm bell was heard, followed by the roar of the undead. Still looking at Ellis, Nick chuckled. "Goddamnit, it's gettin' good." He grinned before running inside, leaving Ellis standing outside, mouth slightly agape. "Boy! You better watch yo' ass!" Coach shouted, punching a zombie square in the face, who was inches away from chowing down on Ellis's shoulder. Startled, he spun around to rejoin the rest of his team mates, who had formed an effective blockade around the door, while Nick frantically searched inside the store for Whitaker's beloved cola. Wave after wave of infected came at them from all angles, each one getting a little closer to them than the last. "Nick! You better hurry your ass up! We can't do this much longer, they won't stop coming!" Rochelle cried out over the howls and screams that were coming from all around them. Nick responded seconds later, the group relifed to hear his voice."Okay! I got the cola! Let's g-" Ellis glanced behind him, scanning the dark store for Nick. "Hey, Nick? Nick!" He shouted, his ears straining to hear a reply. "Shit man, ah'm goin' tah see what he's doin'!" He shouted to Coach as he fired one last bullet into the crowd of never ending zombies coming towards him. "Hurry it up boy!" Coach shouted after him as he disappeared inside. Walking past the shelves there was no sign of Nick. That was until he got around the corner and saw him desperately wrestling with a smoker's tongue that had coiled around his mid section, trying to pull him out of the window. Ellis's eyes went wide with panic as he searched for something he could use to help him. Eventually he saw a fire axe hanging on the wall, and in one swift movement had lifted it from its holder and slashed through the vile slimy tongue that held Nick. They heard the smoker let out a howl of pain, before jumping off the roof nearby and retreated around the corner. "Guys we can't hold on anymore!" Rochelle hollered from outside, her voice trembling with fear and desperation. Ellis stood panting as Nick ran around the counter towards Rochelle and Coach, gripping the cola in one hand, raising his gun with the other, shouting for Ellis to follow. Eventually the alarm silenced and the four of them killed the remaining zombies that were lurking around the car park. "There's ammo in there, I think you'll need it." Nick pointed inside the store, Rochelle and Coach nodding, entering the store and disappearing around the corner, leaving Nick and Ellis alone, hearts still racing and panting for breath.

"Man! That was wayy too close. They almost had yah there, ey Nick? Until super Ellis came along, ahn' saved the day that is." Ellis chuckled, leaning against the wall and bending over, hands on his knees, letting his head fall forward. He froze as he felt a hand on his back. Looking up through squinted eyes, he saw Nick, hand placed on his shoulder. He could feel the warmth from his hand radiating through his thin t-shirt as his body stiffened under his firm but gentle touch. "Thanks. You've saved my ass more than enough times now kid." Ellis stood upright, eyes locking onto Nicks'. He could feel his bottom lip begin to quiver as he stared at him, still feeling his hand on his shoulder. "Uhh, it wasn't, ah mean, it ain't nuthin'." Ellis managed to stammer out, smiling weakly, losing sense of his surroundings as he continued to stare at Nick, who was now smirking, driving Ellis crazy in the process. He threw back his head and nodded, as if thinking to himself, before starting to gently squeeze Ellis's shoulder, applying a little more pressure each time he did so. Slowly he leaned in, face to face with Ellis. "No, I think...I think I'm gonna have to find a way to repay you, Ellis." He spoke slowly, quietly, almost whispering his name, sending an army of chills down his spine, his knees began shaking uncontrollably as he tried to steady himself against the wall behind him. Nick moved closer, placing a hand at either side of his head on the wall, that same smirk still across his face, his eyes darting from his shaking knees to him quivering lip. "Do you uh, do you have anything in mind, Ellis? Anything...You want me to do? Huh? Anything at all...?" His eyes were fixed onto Ellis's now, staring intensely as he tilted his head to the side, the grin disappearing from his face. Ellis gasped as he felt Nick step closer, their bodies touching as Nick placed his mouth next to his ear and breathed softly, making every hair on Ellis's body stand on end. "I think I have an idea of what I could do to repay you. Quite a few ideas in fact. The question is Ellis, you still think it was nothing? Or, do you...want me to repay you?" he whispered into his ear, emphasizing each word, hearing Ellis's panting becoming more rapid. "Well?" Nick teased, slowly grinding his thigh against Ellis's crotch, causing him to inhale deeply, arching his back hard and squeezing his eyes shut tight. Hearing the others returning from replenishing their ammo, Nick slowly moved back, grinning, almost admiring what he'd caused Ellis to feel. Ellis opened his eyes and stared at Nick, breathing hard, trying to stop his heart from pounding against his chest, and the tent that had began to form in his pants. He chewed his bottom lip, glancing towards the store doors, knowing it was only a few seconds before Coach and Rochelle were with them again. Turning to face Nick, he nodded hard. "Yeah Nick. Ah do."


End file.
